In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have taken coordinated action against a debt settlement company by filing both a criminal indictment and a civil complaint on the same day.

Over the past four installments of this series, we have taken a quick look at how the consumer financial services industry ended up with a new regulator—the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).